Delivery and Safety: A Two-Way Street

Delivery is its bread-and-butter. And service is in its name. So, the U.S. Postal Service takes pride in delivering mail to every address in America.

But declining mail volume, changes in the network, a downsizing of its workforce, and evolving customer needs have led to changes in delivery. Further, a wide range of variables, such as weather, employee absences, or new carriers to a route, can affect delivery every day. These changes and variables pose challenges to the Postal Service in meeting its targeted “24-hour clock initiative,” which is to collect, distribute, and deliver mail on time and to have 95 percent of letter carriers off the street by 5 p.m.

In recent years, more carriers have been returning after 5 p.m. That percentage increased nationally from 25 percent in fiscal year (FY) 2011 to 38 percent in FY 2013. Mail delivery after dark raises carrier safety concerns while late mail makes consumers unhappy.

Our recent audit report looked specifically at the Capital District, which experienced a 14 percentage point increase in city carriers returning after 5 p.m. We found the increase was due to (1) delayed delivery of mail from the processing facilities to the delivery units, and (2) supervisors failing to properly supervise city delivery operations. Our recommendations centered on modifying operating plans to get mail to the delivery unit earlier in the day and on adhering to policies and procedures for supervising city delivery operations.

Also, we encouraged management and union officials to work together to address carrier safety. External stakeholders have already offered some ideas worth considering, such as brightly colored, reflective clothing to make carriers more visible, and realigning delivery routes so carriers can start earlier in dangerous areas.

We welcome your suggestions as well. What more could be done to get carriers off the streets by the targeted 5 p.m. return time? Given all the variables that can affect the ability to complete deliveries by 5 p.m., what additional precautions could be taken to enhance carrier safety?

Comments (88)

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We live a couple of miles outside of Sedro Woolley, WA 98284. Our home is less than one-quarter mile from our mailbox, but more often than not, packages that have been shipped to us via USPS or UPS Sure Post are not delivered to the house. Instead, the rural carrier leaves an "unable to deliver" notice in our mailbox, typically around 10:30 a.m., stating that we can pick the package up at the post office the next business day. Packages that were supposed to be delivered on a Friday are then not available to us until the following Monday. We have notified local USPS staff about the issue, but our phone call has not been returned. USPS rural service guidelines state that packages will be delivered to the door as long as the house is no more that one-half mile from the rural route. As stated above, our home is less than one-quarter mile from the rural route. Is there anything we can do to remedy this problem?

Sometimes my regular mail delivery comes late in the day after dark . This week at 5:45 one day. I live on a rural 2 way street without street lights or sidewalk and the mailbox is on the street . In our neighborhood we often deliver our mail to each other because mail is left in the wrong mailboxes . I am in my 70's and get nervous getting the mail at this hour.

I have been receiving my mail between 530p and 6 pm. I am a widow of 79 yrs of age, the street is dark now that the time has changed. I hate to leave my mail out all night. What is wrong where as a few months ago I was getting my mail at 2-3pm? With the ice and snow coming soon, It will be difficult for me to go outside to get the mail not being able to see where I am going.
Can you check into this for me. Thank you! Do you think I should call my postmaster?

A few months ago the mail was "lighter" meaning there wasn't as much of it. Now with political mail, holiday mail, and the double if not triple or quadruple amount of packages. it takes longer to sort in the morning meaning carriers don't start until MUCH later which just starting later is one thing but then all the extra packages slows them down as well because it means they have to go to more peoples doors with packages. And unfortunately it will most likely get even later with snow/ice on the way.

We have a handful of carriers that runtil our route. 2 are absolutely amazing. The third is lazy as all get out. We have a street side mail box and leave enough space for the mail truck to pull in. Every single time she is working she drives right passed. Doesn't even attempt to deliver. It's so frustrating because there is no where else to park. The other 2 ladies have no issue delivering. What can we do to make sure we get our mail?

We don't get mail delivered until after 8:30 pm, if it gets delivered at all. If I am expected to do my job within certain hours, I think I could expect the same from someone who is making way more money than I am. I can see why the US Postal service is losing business.

You are the reason I am quitting the post office. You have no idea what we do between getting the mail and casing the mail. I dont leave post office intil 11:00 to 12 pm I work until 8pm
Don't lecture me or anyone else on work ethics
You make me sick

I have a package that says out for delivery and I still have not received any mail today and it is 9:40 at night. I more than a little upset with the post office on this one, I understand some routes were delayed due to damage from the hurricane but this side of town was not damaged and the mail has been getting later and later coming, That is just unacceptable,

My fiance is a temporary city courier. She is very proud to be a government employee. She is from the Philippines and she is not a US citizen yet. The management and supervisors that work for the usps is mostly black and female in Dallas Texas. They talk to my girlfriend very disrespectful. And have a nasty attitude. Because she is a temporary city courier, she is sent to different post offices every day, and is given a different route everyday. It makes it very difficult to find the address and deliver the mail effectively. Plus they won't allow her to return to the office until she finishes with all the deliveries. Half of the time it's 8 - 8:30 pm before she finishes her route. In the areas of Dallas where she delivers. It is very dangerous to be there.. Drug dealers, hookers, thugs, and low life's.. It's not safe for an attractive woman to be out delivering mail after dark anywhere much less the getto of Dallas. I fear for her safety and well being. She has voice her concerns about the situation to her supervisor... And ask go send help to finish the route if it's getting dark. But they ignore her request for help. And insist she finish the work. The post office has cut wages for new and temporary hires. There's no insurance or benefits for them. And no defined probation period. She's been there for a year... And is still a temp. They really need to change their policy and consider the safety of the people who are working hard to deliver the mail. I understand the goal of the post office is to provide reasonable access to the mail. And I know they are trying new things to cut cost. I think twice a week delivery to each home is reasonable. This would reduce cost, and still provide reasonable access to the mail. It's not necessary to go to Every house and business in America every day. That is a waste of time and money. And it will allow the postal service to be more effective at their job...

They can't cut mail delivery to twice. Day. Your gf wouldn't have a job if they did that. Also ppl have been temp employees for years before getting the chance to become regulars. It's how it is. She needs to leave the PO now and look for suitable employment. USPS isn't a great place to work.

Last year our delivery route was turned to the last delivery of the day. This year mail has been getting here between 6:30 and 7 o'clock at night. We have large parcels, dark streets & long driveways. I've talk to the supervisor at the Lexington Ave. local postal office and he blames it on the election bulk. I informed him of our dark streets and how it is unsafe for the delivery personnel to deliver mail on the street. This change was supposed to be more efficient. I told the supervisor a more efficient delivery would be to put the last delivery at a gang box with a set of lighted apartments.

My carrier delivers mail to the businesses across the street every day between 10 & 10:30 am, often parking at a convenience store & going inside for a break. He then leaves the businesses to deliver mail to the rest of the neighborhood. He doesn't come back to deliver my mail until between 5:30 & 6:00pm. When I asked him why, he said it was so he "didn't have to turn around." ??? Does USPS have a policy of priority for business clients above private US citizens? He drives past my house, turning into the businesses but, does't bring my mail at the same time so he doesn't have to turn around. This seems very inappropriate & designed by the carrier to meet some personal schedule or needs. Who can I talk to about this?

Mail carriers have a set line of travel that they are required to adher to as well as set break times depending on the amount of mail and the time they leave the office. If there is business on a route they try to keep it in the beginning of the route. There is no guaranteed time for mail, only that you'll get it each day if you have mail. They're are extinuating circumstances, of course, like vehicle breakdowns. In out area, we start at 9 am which already puts us at 5:30 for 8 hours, overtime is in the dark. In my opinion, management doesn't care about our safety, otherwise they would do what was necessary to get us off the street before dark

I've been a carrier for nearly 33 years so I can tell you what the problem is with the Postal Service. While first class mail has declined, our number of parcels and what we call spr's(small parcels and rolls) have increased. For example, I have a 613 stop driving route, years ago my route was inspected and found to have an average of 8 parcels a day and maybe 20 sprs. Now, supervisors consider a parcel to be anything larger than a shoebox, carriers consider a parcel to be anything we have to walk to the door to deliver. We are allowed only so much time for each parcel. Now, with the increase in parcels, I average 30 parcels a day (50 to 60 at Christmas) and anywhere from 40 to 120 sprs a day. Yet, our supervisors don't want to acknowledge that we need more time to deliver the mail, combine that with reduced workforce, temporary employees who just don't care and upper management (most of whom have never delivered mail) making impossible demands and you get the Postal Service. Most regular carriers care a great deal about the people on our routes and we do what we can to give the best possible service but management, especially in our station in Miami, makes it very difficult. Also, one of the previous commenters is correct, we have sore hands from arthritis and carpal tunnel, sore shoulders, knees and feet. Most people don't realize how tough this job is until they actually have do it so please try to be patient, we deal with pain, difficult supervisors and a lot crappy weather.

What about delays due to herniated disk, swollen knees, arthritic joints, ware and tear on carrier bodies compounded with an ever increasing workload and street/elements time increase? None of you geniuses factor that in? No wonder you can never catch your own tail.

Maybe you should see your dr. I am 20+ years retired with some of the same problems, yet i have to walk to the street with a flashlight after 9 pm to get my mail because it is often delivered late at night. If you are unable to deliver mail perhaps you should consider a transfer to another position instead of bad-mouthing tax payers paying your salary. Hope you feel better soon.

No, you don't pay our wages with your tax dollars! USPS does NOT get tax money. We are the only self sufficient federal business. We operate solely on our own sales revenues.
Your poor carrier stuck out there late at night. You should be ashamed! We get paid route pay and end up working for free. Of course we all want to spend the night working for free instead of being home with our families. Our routes are overloaded and we can't do a thing about it.

After reading most of the comments I know I'm not the only one with this USPS terrible service. I'm kind of wondering though why someone higher than our local postmasters aren't doing something to prevent situations like these. It's like the USPS takes no pride in doing a good job. For that matter they should hire monkeys to do it. I'm sure they would appreciate their income n benefits. Today the truck drove into my driveway, honked n reversed. I jumped when I saw n heard it honk, ran out but like I said, he was reversing as he did the honking. So I run to the private road we have , he sees me but instead of reversing he keeps driving and decides to throw my package on the corner grown of my neighbor's yard. Then he leaves a bigger package sitting on top of the boxes, risking the chance of it getting stolen. The only way I knew of the other box was because my son happened to drive into the private road coming into my house . See the mail boxes are about half a block away from where I live n I thought the only box he had for me was the one he threw down. This type of service lacks morals, etiquette delivery requirements, pride, will to work, and possibly some training.

The non regular mail carrier's passive aggressiveness in regards to gate closing on our block
Is beyond anything near acceptable!
I have moved the mailbox so that the carrier does not have to go up the stairs. Is this how I
get repaid for a favor?
The neighbors and I have dogs. Leaving the gate open is not safe.
Some consideration in this matter would be appreciated. Thank you

We have a woman who delivers mail (as she chooses to). Everyone in the area has complained about her and asked to have her replaced. She has caused people to move their rural boxes more than twice, complained about snow removal (which was done properly), makes very little effort to deliver parcels or decides not to at all. She just leaves a card that the package can be picked up at the post office which is in another town because our office is only open till noon. Please help! Mail in a rural area is vital...especially because we do a lot of shopping by mail.

My mail delivery was skipped 2 times this week due to road construction. I find this to be unacceptable!! I do realize the construction may make the job a little harder but too bad!! If I were waiting on medicine for myself or family this matter would be forwarded to every local news outlet and social media site. Pathetic and lazy is the only excuse.

I know Memorial Day is Monday it is 6:45 p.m. I have not seen my mail people run at all today I got up this morning and the mail usually come around about 2:03 on the weekend I have not seen my mail carrier all day and it's 6:45 p.m. and I was way too important letter in the mail the mail today

Join the 'Club'... I've been an RN for over 30 yrs; when I started, we almost always got off on time and had at least one 15 min break. Now, the shifts are 12 hrs (which usually turn into 13-14 hrs) and we're lucky to gay ANY breaks at all!
I KNOW what the problem is in Nursing: terrible understaffing, aka: Corporate Greed!
Sorry, can't really tell you what the USPS's problem is. I can't even get my carrier to open a gate and deliver a package IN my yard!

What's the point in having a Comments section when no one from USPS is actually responding to the comments??!? They must find it amusing. The average postal worker probably goes through his/her day thinking, "I get paid the same whether I deliver the mail fast, slow, OR NOT AT ALL!!! Ha! Ha!"

I am trying to find info about responsibility and substitute mail carriers. In the last 3-5 weeks I have noticed that when the main letter carrier is off, the sub is not coming around. Before the sub showed up about 1 to 1.5 hours past the regular carrier's time.
Not now. My apartment sits next to the mail boxes, so I always hear the letter carrier unlocking the main drop door to access all the boxes.
I have been vigilant in checking lately, as I know there have been a day or two when there is no carrier accessing the boxes.
Who do I notify about this? My business depends on the mail, as I work from home, selling items online.

For years my mail man has delivered like clockwork between 930am and 1030am. I normally know when he is off or on vacation. (I hope nothing happened to him) The substitute normally is here between 330pm and 430pm. However, lately I have not received my mail to almost 6pm. I thought all mail was supposed to be delivered no later than 500pm.

With our old carrier we always received the correct mail at about the same time every afternoon. Since then our service is very unreliable & it is nearly impossible to contact our local PO by phone. I would love to be able to receive our mail every day before I am getting ready or already in bed. We have received our mail as late as 10:00pm. Once when the PO was keeping track of my mail delivery, they showed it as being delivered, which it was. The problem was my mail was all delivered to a neighbor's home. Right now, 8:30pm & still no mail.

I live down a dirt road that is approx 1/4 of a mile. Down this road there are 7 homes, and farm land.
If it rains our postal carrier will not deliver the mail. He wont drive in the mud. I get it is annoying, but it is not dangerous. We all drive it everyday, including the employees of the farm, AND FedEx AND UPS!
I haven't had mail for almost a week. With El Nino here will I ever get mail?

This is so SIMPLE! Get us our mail early in the morning so we can get to the street early and get done with our routes! We start late, then we wait, and wait in the mornings for our mail. ....simply get us our mail! We are happy to get out to our routes, and get done before dark!

Well said! People don't realize what it takes to be a mail carrier & what we actually have to deal with. I am 3 months in to being an RCA. I get to work at 5:15 am & there is no mail or flats to put up. Wait around till about 6 when the truck shows up. & Get tons of mail dumped at my station along with packages. & I case EVERYTHING because I'm straddling in my van, so I can't take DPs to the street due to safety reasons (as if I'm not putting my safety in jeopardy by straddling & not wearing a seatbelt just to reach a box. People that don't carry need to be mindful that some days the mail is heavier than other days & you just have to be patient.

Why isn't there home delivery on our residential one-way street? Houses exist on both sides of the street, however, the USPS declares that it is illegal to deliver mail on a one-way street. That answer is befuddling since businesses are on many one-way streets and mail gets delivered without using a foot carrier. Can you please provide an answer?????
Thank you,
Kenny

One of my Christmas gifts never made it to my granddaughter. I will never again use the USPS! You need to vet people better and make sure you're not hiring people who are going to steal Christmas packages!

Our postal delivery guy has stopped bringing packages to our house. He would deliver for years now I am told there is no way to turn around, Of course UPS and FedEx trucks have no problems and we can turn a truck and trailer around. Now its a random delivery, once in a while he will come to the house but if you don't come out when he honks his horn he will leave without delivery. When I complained I was told to leave a tote at the end of the driveway by the mailbox and he will leave the packages. Is this the new way of doing business? Can they ensure that if I do that my mail wont be stolen? When I pay extra for expedited delivery I want my packages delivered to my house, not get a pink slip to pick it up at a post office that closes at 4:30 when I get off at 5pm.

I have a strange problem that has been going on for some time. When the regular carrier is on the route , I get very little mail (the important stuff does get delivered) and almost always on only 2 days. Always the same 2 days - Wednesday and Friday. When the carrier is off for a week (vacation) and a substitute carrier does the route , mail is delivered Monday - Saturday. Why the difference? I have called the local PO for my ZIP Code to complain. When they ask the carrier about it , the response is always "I only deliver what I have". The times when the carrier is away , I get plenty of "junk mail" , but not when he is on the route.
Something is amiss , but what?

I am having trouble right now with my mail delivery.. I called the postmaster in Louisville Ohio and tell her that the mail lady they have coming to our house is not delivering properly.. She will make four and five trips on our street and leaving without delivering mail because I guess she forgot mail to other people. Has done this on numerous occasions.. I feel 6:00 pm is to late to be delivering my mail.....this same woman delivers at my daughters...my daughter watched her put two packages at the end of her drive she got dressed to go get them and here comes mail lady back and picked them up...first they should be put at front door not at end of drive.. I do not care if she is not use to route she has been on it at least three weeks should know it by now isn't that what she gets paid for?? So this postmaster tries to tell me it's because of Christmas and I say no that is a lie our regular mail lady has never delivered at six even with a foot of snow.. This post office is a big joke and they need someone to oversee what they are allowing to happen..fed up!!

Earlier delivery-Currently postal carriers start at 8 am in New Haven, Ct and spend 1.5 to 2 hrs preparing the days mail. The preparation of the mail and loading of the mail should be done by the night shift or early morning shift. Carriers could come in at 8 and be on the road by 8:10 or come in at 7:30 and on the road at 7:40. Delivery of mail to high crime and unsafe areas should be done in groups(2 carriers per street as there is safety in numbers)) and very early in the morning(Monday to Friday only for high crime areas). Apartment complexes and any other building that is well lit or inside should be done last on every route.
Absolutely NO delivery for any home with an unleashed animal. Have the more experienced carriers deliver in unsafe areas. As it is now you place new carriers in unsafe areas throwing them to the wolves where it is almost 99% sure that they will be injured in their early careers.

The mail service in my city seems to get worse each year. I have had at least ten different carriers over a two year period, and most of them have been very inept. Too often I find post in my box that belongs to someone else, and sometimes my post goes to another address. Often the post that is mis-delivered is very sensitive post, too. I have contacted my post office supervisors over and over and over again to complain, but there is never any improvement.
Some of the mistakes made by the carriers are jaw dropping appalling. For instance, I asked that some of my medical records be posted to me. The doctor's office mistakenly address the letter to a residence two doors down from me. I only discovered this after a month of waiting for the records to arrive. I was upset not only with the doctor's office, which had violated HIPPA re medical records, but I was also very upset with the postal carrier. What IDIOT delivers all my mail to my address but one day sees a letter from a DOCTOR"S OFFICE no less, with an address two doors down and delivers it two doors down? I would have expected anyone with a modicum of common sense to realise that the last digit on the house number was a mistake. At least the carrier could have cared enough to question me about it. If s/he had done, I could have verified EXACTLY from whom I was awaiting the letter. Well, the neighbour that received my medical records never gave them back to the post office. I still do not know if the neighbour opened and read my medical information, or if they threw it in the trash or what. If they threw the letter in the trash, who knows who could have ended up with my confidential, privileged medical records? I bitterly complained about the total lack of "common sense" that one would have to have to make this sort of cock-up, but it fell on deaf ears. After more than two years and numerous carriers, I still get other people's post at least twice per month, and other people get my post How do I know? I know because the post eventually shows up with handwritten comments on it such as "LOOK! NOT AT THIS ADDRESS!!" Sometimes it is obvious from the condition of the post that it sat out on someone else's post box in rainy weather or what have you, and that is on top of the person's handwritten note that it was mis-delivered. After receiving other people's electric bills, phone bills, credit card statements, I have even gone so far as to contact my post office to let them know I would NOT return the mis-delivered post to the post office but would personally deliver it to the intended recipient and let them know it was delivered to me by mistake AGAIN.
Mis-delivery is not the only problem, either. A couple of weeks ago I posted a small package from Texas to N.Y. via TWO DAY PRIORITY MAIL. It left my city the same day I posted it, yet it took FOUR DAYS for it to be delivered to the recipient. Now, today, November 20, 2015, I have waited all day for a package to arrive. The tracking says the package is "out for delivery." It is now almost 8 p.m., but I have still not received it or any other post. My neighbour said the post office will not likely get it here not until tomorrow, i.e. Saturday. I really counted on the package being delivered today. It, too, was sent TWO DAY PRIORITY MAIL by the sender. I cannot wait here all day tomorrow to receive it. This is unbelievable to me. I never had these sorts of problems twenty or thirty years ago. The decline in the postal service began about perhaps ten years ago, and it gets worse every year.
Who is to blame? Well, you get what you pay for, and if you do not offer a decent salary to prospective employees, they take employment with someone else. I can only attribute the HORRIBLE decline in service to who is hired to do the job. I am appalled by the lack of basic common sense or even basic attention to what one is doing. For example, a few months ago a package was shipped to me by mistake as the order had been cancelled. The package had tracking, so I knew exactly what day it was to arrive. I sat outside in scorching heat from about 11 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. waiting for the carrier. Finally, I gave up and wrote a note for the carrier. I taped the note to my post box. It said not to deliver the package from NY as the order had been cancelled. Please send it back to sender. The note said in all caps, POSTAL CARRIER. One would have to be deaf, dumb, and blind to miss it. Yet, I checked the mail late that afternoon, and the package had been left. I was furious! I saw the carrier AFTER five p.m. a couple of days later and asked him why he left the package. I said, did you not read the note taped to my post box??? He replied, no. I complained to the supervisor. I said the package would not have tracking on it if I simply sent it back as is, and I did not feel it was my responsibility to pay for return postage on a package simply to have tracking on it whilst there was a very specific note to the carrier NOT deliver package from N.Y. with tracking number ----------------------. I was told that they would see what could be done and contact me back. No one every contacted me back.
Look, I know more than one or two people who are very bright and conscientious and out of work. Hire someone like that to deliver the post! From where do you get these thicko carriers? I mean, do I not have the right to expect them to have a modicum of common sense?? I realise the post office is not going to persuade the intelligentsia to take these jobs, but is there NO ONE in between the intelligentsia and total idiots?
I could tell you other appalling stories about the carriers I have had over the last few years, but I will leave it for another day. It is now after 8 p.m. on Friday night, and my package still shows "out for delivery." I think my neighbour is correct. I will be lucky if the package is delivered tomorrow. USPS needs to get its act together, as they say. The kind of experiences I have had with the post office is totally unacceptable.

I'm sorry to hear of ypur problems. I have been dealing with USPS for 30 years and have found out a simple fact: they don't care! There are not a real business because they would have gone bankrupt by now!

I mailed a birthday card and a $75 Visa gift card to my daughter-in-law - from AZ to CO - and she received an open envelop with nothing inside. They receive their mail in a locked box so the only individuals handling the card were postal employees. Is the Postal Service financially responsible to refunding my money so I can purchase another gift card?

In Plano TX the mail carriers commonly discard mail, deliver it to the wrong address to get rid of it, dump it in the trash. I have had 16 certified letters go missing in the last 12 months. I have had 22 letters that I know of that were never delivered. 8 Birthday card to my kids never made it to our mail box. Where does the mail go??? Packages NEVER get an attempted delivery. The carriers ONLY carry slips stating that they attempted delivery, I guess if you aren't standing next to the carrier when they sort your package into the trash then you don't get it. I have never in the last 20 years EVER had a postal worker knock on my door. NEVER, not even once. I have called the IG, called the post master, filed complaints, NO RESPONSE. The USPS is the worst excuse for lazy worthless people I have ever seen! It should be a crime to steal peoples mail! (Isn't it a crime to steal peoples mail?) Guess the law does not apply to sticky fingered lazy USPS workers that get Paid to sit at home.

I am a customer in Westminster, Colorado. About 5 years ago we were notified that our route was being changed and that delivery for our area (suburban neighborhood) would change from around noon to anytime after 5:00. I see the mail truck every single day on my street deliver to the east side of the street at a reasonable time ( anywhere from 11:00 -1:00 p.m.) yet the truck doesn't deliver to west side of the street until late evening? Sometimes we don't get delivery at all on my side of the street. I know because I ask my neighbors on either side of me if they have received mail for the day and it is typical for our entire side of the street to miss delivery periodically because we are on the end of a route. I have filed complaints before and get the same response...we are on the end of the route and that we may not have received mail for that day. I realize that I may not have received mail for that day but both of my neighbors that live directly next door to me didn't either? I'm not buying it. We don't get delivery every day because we are on the end of a route now. Case in point, we had no mail delivered yesterday. I was in my home office, I watched 3 postal trucks go down my street today, 1 delivered to the east side of the street (around 11:00 am), not one stopped to deliver to the west side of the street. It is currently 4:35 p.m. Denver time and I still have not had mail delivery today. Feeling very frustrated.

We have just been informed our post office in Pine Mountain Club Ca 93222 is being closed. We are a mountain community of 2,315 population. We have never had delivery and must go to our town PO. The...

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